Japanese Tea Gardens
add photosConcessions
Hot tea and snacks are served in the tea house.
Tours
Free tours every Wednesday and Sunday at 1PM. Meet inside the main gate.
Stroller Tours are for parents to enjoy fresh air, meet other parents and learn the facinating history of the Park. Stay in shape, meet new moms and new friends.
1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month :: 10am
Please call our 24-hour hotline for schedule details: 415.263.0991
No Cost.
Read tour descriptions here.
17 Reviews for Japanese Tea Gardens
159
59
'10, '11, '12
0 families found this helpful
"Gorgeous gardens"
These are gorgeous gardens, very peaceful (even though you can sometimes hear the cars outside of the park). If you come before 10 am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the admission is free. It is a nice stop before visiting the de Young museum for example.
Send a Message 
Send a Compliment
It's helpful
1 family found this helpful
"Beautiful Diversion"
We visit the Japanese Tea Garden with our 3 & 6 year-olds every time we visit Golden Gate Park. I recommend going in the Spring to see more of the beauty the garden has to offer. It is beautiful and calming, and an adult alone could likely stay for hours in this calm and peaceful haven. With children, you will probably spend about an hour, so take that into consideration when paying the entrance fee. Kids will enjoy running around ponds, and over bridges. Our kids especially loved the sketchy 3/4 circle arch. We have lots of memorable photos from this beautiful garden.
The tea area has also changed from times past, and now offers a wide selection. For most options, be prepared to spend $$. It is still fairly reasonable to get tea and cookies though.
Somewhat costly, but it's a beautiful, worthwhile tradition for our family.
0 families found this helpful
"over rated"
I am sorry I am perhaps one of the few who would have given this place a poor review but this place is not at all stroller friendly unless we completely ignored the instructions. This place is over priced and overrated for us it was not very exciting.
0 families found this helpful
"Great place to take pictures"
This immaculate garden is my favorite in the Golden Gate Park. The manicured gardens, bonsai, fountains and barrel bridge are a lovely spot to spend an hour or so. It's breathtaking when the trees are flowering. It's also a great place to take photos of your kids. There's not a lot to do here with kids, otherwise I would give it 5 stars. There is free admission before 10 on Mon. and Wed.; otherwise it's $7 for non-residents.
1 family found this helpful
"Kind of disappointing"
Ive wanted to go here since i was a kid, and i recently went with my cousin and her two kids. To be honest, i was kind of disapponted, the service seemed not very together, and the tour wasnt as long as would have liked it to be. Also, my cousins kiddos were pretty bored with the whole thing, older kids might appreciate it more. Her two little ones threw several temper tantrums!!
0 families found this helpful
"San Fran Tea Graden"
My hubby and I went to the Tea Garden on a grand tour of San Fran. It was a pretty quick tour, pretty gardens, but nothing terribly interesting, esp for kids. I also was a tad disappointed in the food/tea area, very disorganized and not much description in what they offered. All in all, okay for short time it took to go through it.
0 families found this helpful
"It's worth it only in the spring and early summer"
We used to live close to the garden and visited it once in a while. I think the garden is beautiful, but since you do have to pay to get in (I think it is still $4 per person), I would advice to go there only when the sakuras are blooming, which is in late spring - early summer. That is when the garden is definitely amazing. Otherwise, it is just a well-kept pretty garden, but you can see many more beautiful and exotic plants in the Golden Gate botanical garden, which is free, by the way.
0 families found this helpful
"Japanese Tea Gardens"
This is a fun and different way to spend an hour (max) if you happen to be close by, or at one Golden Gate park's other attractions. It's very pretty and peaceful and my kids love to wander through and follow the paths.. they spent a while climbing up and exploring the barrel bridge, but ultimately there is a limited amount of things to do here. I also suffered sticker shock at the price of a small cup of tea and some crackers! Lovely place to take photos of your kids.
1 family found this helpful
"An early bird's eye view"
Beauty lies in the eye of an early bird. If you wake up early, you avoid traffic and have lots of parking. On Wednesdays before 9 am, you can visit for free and save money on admission as well. Up near the right side of the gift shop is an often missed delight for all. It is my 3 year old grandson's favorite spot. He followed the water flow, and has found the source of water flowing down to the ponds! It's a stone bird bath fountain beside the fascinating bamboos!
0 families found this helpful
"Fun with the Family"
My kids, grown up now, still love having tea and cookies in the Japanese teahouse when the cherry trees bloom in early spring. The Japanese Tea Garden is a fairy tale of a place, with a moon bridge, a brightly painted pagoda, a brooding bronze statue of Buddha, and lily ponds swimming with koi fish. Glorious maples blaze in autumn, and clouds of rhododendrons and azaleas burst into flower in spring.
1 family found this helpful
"Great experience"
The koi ponds are beautiful in this peaceful garden. The grounds ae kept well, and the people are very friendly. A great place in Golden Gate Park to stop and take pictures or just take in the scenery!
Kids will feel like they are in a different country just by coming to this lovely garden.
1 family found this helpful
"relaxing, but bored my kids"
I took the kids here one day having fond memories of the tea gardens as a child. My kids were not impressed and were pretty bored. They did not appreciate the bonsai and other plants. Their favorite things to do were run around the koi pond and run up and over the barrel bridge. We did not have tea and cookies. I have heard that the Japanese Tea Gardens will be under new ownership soon, so I'm hoping it will be more authentic and interesting.
1 family found this helpful
"Great place to wander and reflect"
If my kids were teenagers I would love to take them here to wander around and have them write down their thoughts. The bridges are great and you need to make sure that you take your picture at the Drum Bridge! The landscaping is beautiful. My little girl could spend all day pointing out the colors of the rainbow in the flowers.
1 family found this helpful
"Very Fun"
After a crazy day at the Academy of Science, the Tea Gardens were a welcome respite and a joy to wander through. The gardens, pools, temples, and waterfalls are splendid. Bring your kids. You'll be amazed at how much all of you will enjoy it. We especially liked the big arching bridge.
3 families found this helpful
"Nihon no koen"
Fun Japanese tea garden with real Koi fish ponds for kids to see. I think there are even dispenser fish food machines to help kids feed the Koi fish. The high semi-circular bridge when viewed with the reflection from the water, appears as a complete circle. There also neat Japanese pagodas and pebble walkways through the garden.
The gift shop is a bit overpriced in order to pillage the tourists. Also the tchotches sold there blur the line between Chinese, Japanese and Pan-Asian cultures.
4 families found this helpful
"Best Tea Garden I've Visited"
I haven't been to many Japanese Tea Gardens, but this one is beautiful. The bridges are nice, the pools and waterfalls are tranquil, and the temple makes a good photo background. The kids prefer the big arching bridge. I've uploaded a photo of it. The tea house serves good tea, but it has more Chinese stuff than traditional Japanese (Fortune Cookies?). It's fun to get tea anyhow. I recommend it with the kids.
1 family found this helpful
"A small dose of culture and quiet"
The Japanese Tea Garden located next to the famous De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park isn't a place you automatically think of bringing kids to. But when I visited with my 2.5 and 5 year old, we had a delightful visit. It was a peaceful respite and the children enjoyed running around the beautiful garden. There is a really cool bridge that 3/4 of a circle that the kids loved climbing up. There are also little zen bridges through the ponds. What a quaint little garden. A nice visit for a cultural experience especially if your children have never seen an Asian garden. Older children might possibly find it boring. But for young children, it's really delightful.
What's Nearby? Hotels » Activities »
Find Hotels near Japanese Tea Gardens »
Find Activities near Japanese Tea Gardens »
Find Restaurants near Japanese Tea Gardens »
Get the inside scoop from parents who have been there!
